"More books like this one introducing historical study in a
sympathetic was are needed.."

Now in paperback

... and into its 3rd
reprint!

John of Worcester

also knows as Florence of Worcester

John was a monk based in Worcester who died circa 1140 when
his chronicle also ends. John is now accepted as the author of the ‘Chronicon
ex Chronicis’ or Universal Chronicle. The work was formerly attributed to a
monk who was known as ‘Florence of Worcester’. But Orderic Vitalis records
‘John’ as the scribe when he visited Worcester circa 1124.[i]
This does not prove that others did not work in compiling the chronicle but
modern scholarship favours John as the primary author.

Like all historians, the chroniclers of the time were relying on other
sources including perhaps a lost version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other
documents. We suspect this because William of Malmesbury includes some similar
material for which the source cannot now be identified. Some of the leaves were
removed from ASC D and remained at Worcester but were later restored; This
conjours a wonderful image of early scholars 'borrowing' sections of precious
texts. Modern scholars believe that such a lost section that somebody failed to
return was a source for some of John’s writing.[ii]

The job of modern historians is to find and then assess the
credibility and accuracy of material before synthesizing its contents. If
something is not mentioned by near contemporary chroniclers, the challenge for
scholars is to work out if one writer has made up a story which later historians
have repeated. This uncharitable view is not taken here. The chroniclers might
be accused of occasionally providing some favourable spin, especially on
ecclesiastical matters, but the evidence is that they were slaves to the
available written records. Therefore John’s record of the battle should be
taken seriously.

“1066. …. On Thursday the eve of our Lord’s
Epiphany, in the Fourth Indiction, the pride of the English, the pacific king,
Edward, son of King Ethelred, died at London, having reigned over the English
twenty-three years six months and seven days.The next day he was buried in kingly style amid the bitter lamentations
of all present.After his burial
the under-king, Harold, son of Earl Godwine, whom the king had nominated as
his successor, was chosen king by the chief magnates of all England; and on
the same day Harold was crowned with great ceremony by Aldred, archbishop of
York.

“On taking the helm of the kingdom Harold immediately
began to abolish unjust laws and to make good ones; to patronize churches and
monasteries; to pay particular reverence to bishops, abbots, monks and clerks;
and to show himself pious, humble and affable to all good men. But he treated
malefactors with great severity, and gave general orders to his earls,
ealdormen, sheriffs and thegns to imprison all thieves, robbers and disturbers
of the kingdom.He laboured in
his own person by sea and by land for the protection of the kingdom. On 24
April in this year a comet was seen not only in England but, it is said, all
over the world, and it shone for seven days with an exceeding brightness.

“Shortly afterwards Earl Tosti returned from Flanders
and landed in the Isle of Wight, after making the islanders pay tribute he
departed and went pillaging along the sea-coast until he came to Sandwich.As soon as King Harold who was then at London heard this, he assembled
a large fleet and a contingent of horsemen, and prepared himself to go to
Sandwich. Tosti, learning of this, took some of the shipmen of that place
(whether willing or unwilling) and set his course towards Lindsey [North
Lincolnshire], where he burnt many villages and put many men to death.

“Thereupon, Edwin, earl of the Mercians, and Morcar,
earl of the Northumbrians, hastened up with an army and expelled them from
that part of the country.Afterwards
he [Tosti] went to Malcolm, king of Scots, and remained with him during the
whole of the summer. Meanwhile, King Harold arrived at Sandwich and waited
there for his fleet.When it was
assembled, he crossed over with it to the Isle of Wight, and, inasmuch as
William, count of the Normans, was preparing to invade England with an army,
he watched all the summer and autumn for his coming.In addition he distributed a land-force at suitable points along the
sea-coast.But about the Feast of
the Nativity of St. Mary [8 September in 1066] provisions fell short so that
the naval and land forces returned home.After this Harold Fairhair [Hardrada], king of the Norwegians and
[half] brother of St. Olaf, the king, arrived unexpectedly at the mouth of the
river Tyne with an extremely powerful fleet of more than five hundred great
ships.

“Earl Tosti, according to previous arrangement,
joined him with his fleet and, on a swift course, they entered the mouth of
the river Humber and sailing up the Ouse against the stream landed at Richale.
On hearing of this, King Harold marched with speed towards Northumbria. But
before his arrival the two brother-earls, Edwin and Morcar, at the head of a
large army fought a battle with the Norwegians on the northern bank of the
river Ouse near York [in boreali ripa Vse fluminin juxta Eboracum]
which was the vigil of the Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle on [Wednesday 20
September in 1066] and fighting manfully at the start that many enemy were
overthrown. After a long contest the English were unable to withstand the
attacks of the Norwegians and not without some small loss they turned to flee
and many more were drowned in the river than fell in battle.The Norwegians remained masters of the place of carnage, and having
taken one hundred and fifty hostages from York and left there the same number
of their own men as hostages and returned to their ships.”[iii]

This is the second mention of the ‘northern
bank of the river Ouse’ in the surviving histories and follows Symeon’s
information, although John does not record the source of this information.
Worcester was, in 11th century terms, a long way from York. But there
were ecclesiastical connections which might explain why two authors record that
Riccall was the landing place for the invading fleet and also place the battle
on the northern bank. Symeon was writing at least a decade before John took up
his quill in the more distant Worcester, so John could have copied this
information from Symeon. (John’s Chronicle also has Harold arriving ‘with
many thousands of well armed men’ in York on Monday en route to Stamford
Bridge, which matches Symeon.)